Elkhart, Illinois

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1911 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Elkhart Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62634. It stands on Elkhart Hill. The Survey maps it on the Broadwell quadrangle. 450 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 596 feet above sea level.

Elkhart within Logan County

Population over time

2 figures

Elkhart grew from 405 to 450 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	405
2020	450	+45 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1911 USGS Lincoln quadrangle1:62500
1913 USGS Lincoln quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
1958 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1961 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
1963 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000
1980 USGS Broadwell quadrangle1:24000
1985 USGS Lincoln quadrangle1:100000
1989 USGS Lincoln quadrangle1:100000
1990 USGS Peoria quadrangle1:250000

In the county-history sources

6,814 words on this township

History of Logan County, Illinois, Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages, and Towns, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History, Portraits of Prominent Person, and Biographies of Representative Citizens : Also a Condensed History of Illinois, Embodying Accounts of Prehistoric Races, Indian Wars, and a Brief Review of Its Civil and Political History, published 1886 names this settlement in its chapter on Elkhart Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Elkhart Township comprises fifty sections of land in the southern part of Logan Count J, and is bounded on the north by Broadwell Township, on the east by Mt. Pulaski Township, on the south by Sangamon County, and on the west by Sangamon County and Kurlbut Township. The northwest corner is crossed by the Chicago & Alton Railroad, and the southeast corner by the Illinois Central. Lake Fork of Salt Creek flows northward through the township.

Passage source: History of Logan County, Illinois, Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages, and Towns, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History, Portraits of Prominent Person, and Biographies of Representative Citizens : Also a Condensed History of Illinois, Embodying Accounts of Prehistoric Races, Indian Wars, and a Brief Review of Its Civil and Political History, published 1886.

In political sentiment the township is safely Eepublican, though by slightly less majorities than were usually expected fifteen years ago. The following table shows the vote for each candidate at each presidential election, with the pluralities:

This village derives its name from the beautiful grove near vehich it is situated, and which was the scene of the first settlement of the county. As soon as the railroad had been completed to this point, an old horse-mill in Springfield, owned bj Seneca Woods, was brought up by William Mozee and placed here for a warehouse. This was in the spring of 1863. In 1855 the village was laid out by John Shockey, of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, who at once built a large frame hotel on what is now known as the Elwood corner. The building is still standing, and is now occupied by various stores. J. R. Saunders built about the same time a brick building for a store, in which he opened the first stock of goods in Elkhart. A few goods were for sale in the old warehouse prior to this, but no regular stock kept. Quite a number ot houses were built this same summer; and until 1862 the town grew very rapidly. Captain Saunders was the first postmaster and railroad agent in town, although his clerk, William Rankin, performed the necessary labor.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Elkhart Township - it names this place 30 more 30 times.

Fires near this place

3 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Elkhart between 2002 and 2005, burning about 2 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Recreation and ceremony	1
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1
Debris and open burning	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
15 March 2005	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
4 December 2002	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office	not named
10 December 2002	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Logan County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Elkhart: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Broadwell Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
	Heinzel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Logan County

Storms near this place

35 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elkhart in 35 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 20 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 3 tornado, 2 flash flood. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 2009	Tornado (EF3)	Elkhart	2 hurt, $7,200,000	The tornado moved into Logan county from Sangamon county at 326 PM CST and continued heading northeast. It widened to 1/2 mile at several locations along its path. The tornado destroyed 7 houses and damaged 15 others. Numerous grain bins and outbuildings were also destroyed. Crop losses were extensive along the 20 mile path and were estimated to be around $1 Million. Two people sustained injuries when the shed they were seeking shelter in was destroyed.\|\|Wind speeds were estimated at 140 mph as the tornado crossed from Sangamon County, decreasing to 110 to 120 mph as it moved to areas between Lincoln and Mt. Pulaski. The tornado continued northeast before weakening to speeds of 90 to 100 mph, with a width of 50 to 100 yards. The tornado dissipated just east of Beason at 402 PM CST. The path length in Logan County was nearly 20 miles.
May 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	1 hurt	Several large trees were blown down. One person was injured when a large metal building being demolished was blown down.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	$20,000	Two semi trucks were blown off I-55 at milepost 113.
September 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	$12,000	Numerous tree branches were blown down along I-55 northeast of Elkhart.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	$12,000	Numerous trees were blown down onto 700th Street.
October 2012	Lightning	Elkhart	$8,000	Lightning struck the Elkhart Fire Department communications tower, knocking out receiver units on the tower.
May 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	$7,000	A power pole was blown down and two trees were damaged in Elkhart.
June 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	$5,000	Several large tree limbs were blown down in Elkhart.
May 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	A few trees were blown down.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	A large tree branch was broken.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	The emergency manager estimated a 70 to 75 mph wind gust.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	The emergency manager estimated a 50 to 60 mph wind gust.
March 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Pea-sized hail with estimated wind gust of 60mph west of Elkhart.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Several large trees were blown down, including one that crashed onto a truck's windshield.
May 2019	Tornado (EF1)	Elkhart	-	This tornado crossed the Menard/Logan County line into southwestern Logan County about 5.7 miles west-southwest of Elkhart at 12:21 AM CDT. The tornado destroyed a machine shed on the Menard/Logan County line, then damaged other outbuildings and trees southwest and west of Elkhart before dissipating 1.9 miles west of Broadwell at 12:27 AM CDT.
May 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	A large tree was blown over in Elkhart.
May 2009	Flash Flood	Elkhart	-	Heavy rain on an already saturated ground produced significant flash flooding in southern Logan County. Illinois Route 121 between Mt. Pulaski and Latham was impassible due to high water. An apartment complex in Latham was evacuated due to rapidly rising water.
June 2008	Flash Flood	Elkhart	-	Water was flowing over portions of 700th Street between Elkhart and Mount Pulaski.
May 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Numerous tree limbs blown down.
August 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Several trees, tree limbs, and power lines blown down.
November 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Aluminum hog sheds were destroyed near Emden and light poles were bent over in Lincoln. There were also several reports of three quarter inch hail across Elkhart, Middletown, Hartsburg, and Lincoln.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Several trees and numerous tree limbs were blown down.
May 1998	Tornado (F0)	Elkhart	-	A tornado briefly touched down in a field 2 miles west of Elkhart. No injuries or damage were reported.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous tree limbs and power lines in the Elkhart, Lincoln, and Atlanta areas. Also, a large tree was blown over in Lincoln which knocked out phone and electrical service in the immediate area. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.
May 2025	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
March 2024	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
May 2016	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
August 2011	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
June 2011	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	no account filed
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Elkhart	-	no account filed
March 2005	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
July 2004	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	Elkhart	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Logan County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Mount Fulcher	2.5 miles	17
Broadwell	3.9 miles	14
Fogarty	6.0 miles	14
Cornland	7.2 miles	11
Lake Fork	7.8 miles	10
Middletown	7.9 miles	13
Chestervale	9.9 miles	14
Burton View	10.4 miles	15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Elkhart	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2671733	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 407876. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.